Candidate Leody De Guzman says election not `entertainment show’

Leody de Guzman (left; shown here with fellow labor leader and senatorial candidate Luke Espiritu). INQUIRER.net / Dianne Sampang

MANILA, Philippines — Partido Lakas ng Masa senatorial candidate and labor leader Leody De Guzman said the elections were “not an entertainment show.”

This came in a statement from De Guzman on Wednesday, citing “successive” instances of candidates making comments “disrespecting” women.

“They may say that they’re just making things lighter… But the election is not an entertainment show, so it shouldn’t be that it’s all laughs, dancing, singing, raffles and giving away jackets and candies that the candidates are doing,” De Guzman said in Filipino.

“The candidates should be asked about their solutions for social problems such as the delay in workers’ wage, the price of goods, the funds for PhilHealth and state universities, the privatization of water districts and many others,” he added.

Freedom of speech

Although De Guzman did not specify which candidates he was referring to, one instance of a candidate making a sexual joke was Pasig congressional bet Ian Sia who remarked that single mothers on their monthly cycle could sleep with him when they “feel lonely.”

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday issued Sia a show cause order, to which he responded by invoking his freedom of speech on Wednesday.

READ: Pasig House bet Ian Sia invokes freedom of speech in show cause response

After Sia’s remarks, reelectionist Misamis Oriental Gov. Peter Unabia said his administration’s nursing scholarship program was only for “beautiful women,”  otherwise it could “worsen” patients’ conditions.

READ: Comelec orders Misamis Oriental gov to explain sexist, racist remarks

The Comelec on Monday similarly ordered Unabia to explain his remarks.